| NEW SET OF ELECTRONIC NAUTICAL CHARTS (ENCS) Panama Canal, Panama |
| RAMAZAN BAYRAMI HOLIDAY. Turkey |
| LOCK CHAMBER CLOSURE FOR MAINTENANCE WORKS Kiel Canal, Germany |
| VLCCS TRANSITING THE SUEZ CANAL Suez Canal, Egypt |
| New set of Electronic Nautical Charts (ENCs) |
| Thursday, June 16, 2016, Panama Canal, Panama |
| A new set of five Electronic Nautical Charts (ENCs) Band 5, covering the entire Panama Canal operational areas, were released to the IC-ENC {International Centre for ENCs] network of Value Added Resellers (VARS) for distribution on June 9, 2016, and should be available to the international maritime community Friday, June 17, 2016.The IC-ENC validation and technical teams supported the production of these five new Electronic Nautical Charts, through detailed validation and quality assurance. These five ENCs also link with ENCs produced by NGA under the authority of the Panama Maritime Authority covering other Panamanian waters. There are currently three Band 5 ENCs produced by NGA covering the Panama Canal, but they will be withdrawn shortly. Two of these NGA Board 5 ENCs (US509860 & US515390) will be cancelled this week and the coverage of the remaining NGA Band 5 ENC (US51540) will be reduced to the area outside of the new ACP Band 5 (PA5CP005).
These new charts are available to shipping companies through any of the eight VARS chart distributors of IC-ENC, and subscription to these charts may be requested in the same manner as is done with ENCs of other regions visited by your vessels. The web site addresses of the eight IC-ENC VARs: Following are cell names and codes of the new five ENCs Band 5: (For information about operations in the Panama Canal contact GAC-Wilford & McKay at gac-wilfordmckay.panama@gac. Source: Panama Canal Authority Advisory to Shipping No. A-34-2016 dated 14 June 2016 |
| Ramazan Bayrami Holiday. |
| Thursday, June 16, 2016, Turkey |
| All banks and official institutions in Turkey will be closed for nine days from Saturday 2 to Sunday 10 July, inclusive, due to the Ramazan Bayrami Holiday.Arrangements for crew, spares, provisions, etc should be made in advance to ensure timely delivery.
Some ports may be closed between these dates and fees for official services such as pilotagem towage, mooring, customs, etc increased by 50%. Therefore, please check with GAC Turkeu prior to calling at any Turkish Port during this period. GAC Turkey will be on duty during the holiday. For further details and information about operations in Turkey contact GAC Turkey at turkey@gac.com |
| Lock chamber closure for maintenance works |
| Thursday, June 16, 2016, Kiel Canal, Germany |
| The Kiel Canal Authority has announced that the New Big South Lock Chamber at Brunsbuettel will be out of service from 20 to 23 June, due to maintenance works.(For information about operations in Germany contact the GAC UK Hub Agency Centre at hub.gb@gac.com)
Source: Sartori & Berger, Germany – GAC agent |
| VLCCs transiting the Suez Canal |
| Thursday, June 16, 2016, Suez Canal, Egypt |
| Concerning VLCC (of more than 250, 000 DWT) coming from Arabian Gulf, heading to American Gulf or the Caribbean zone on their round trip to transit the Suez Canal after discharging part of their cargo in SUMED line.The Suez Canal Authority has decided the following:
Any VLCC coming from south is to pay a lumpsum of USD 155, 000 (including charges of tugs, charges for arrival after limit time and charges for booking in the convoy). A VLCC is to pay a lumpsum of USD 230, 000 on her return ballast trip (including charges of tugs, charges for arrival after limit time and charges for booking in the convoy). Any company wishing to benefit from this circular has to submit a request before transit through its Maritime Agency. This circular takes effect as of 16 June 2016 for an experimental period of 6 months (180 days), to be renewed. (For information about operations in the Suez Canal contact GAC Egypt suezcanal@gac.com) Source: Suez Canal Authority Circular3/2016 |
